Spotlight: Interview with John, 71 yrs
“One of the things with old age setting in is how all the natural body movements one has taken for granted all ones life are now either missing or just plan hard work to get functioning.”
How long have you been doing exercise classes?
About three years now
What made you start?
i was finding i was very limited in what I could do without being too weak, to sore, or out of breath. If I wanted to do any normal activities such as walking or gardening I would unwittingly injure myself and cause more pain and discomfort. It seemed that I was forever in some sort of pain.
Tell me about your youth, were you active? Did you ever get injured?
The fact is I have always been a physically active person. Played a lot of tennis, surfing, swimming and regular running.
Have you gone through any health issues in the last 20 or so years that impact you now?
Generally I have been healthy. A lot of early age jumping and tennis resulted in torn cartilage to both knees with one having most of the cartilage removed.
That and then going for runs at least 3 times a week caused a lot of knee pain. A ski accident resulted in a knee reconstruction with torn cruciate ligaments. This all lead up to me only being able to walk a hundred meters without severe pain in one knee. Having that knee joint replaced 2 years ago has enabled me to stand straight and walk again. Prior to that if I sat at a table for a coffee then stood up to go I would have to stand for a minute or two to ease the pain in the leg and actually be able to move away without limping.
Sounds extreme but it was. Also my grand daughter jumped up in an excited greeting one cold morning and as I had a bag in one arm I caught her with my other arm and that caused the bicep tendon in that arm to snap! A funny feeling and no real pain but forever now I can't bend my arm and ‘make a muscle’. Thinking about it I also had a lower back injury, I received in my lower spine in my late 20’s, that ensured I would forever have pain issues in my back. I have found darling ‘rolling’ and soft stretching exercises you have given me have made those problems fade away.
What difference to the quality of your life are you feeling since including purposeful, regular exercises in it?
The daily exercises you have given me for stretching including hip raises, side stretching, down dog etc and shoulder stretching rotator cuff exercises are keeping me pain free, I have better posture and don’t stoop and wobble like an old man when i walk. Also I can now sit and stand on my surf paddle board.
“My overall stability muscles are getting stronger and I feel better and confident with body movement”
One of the things with old age setting in is how all the natural body movements one has taken for granted all ones life are now either missing or just plan hard work to get functioning.
Doing the simple group of mobility exercises you have given us to do daily - which only take say ten minutes - is still something we have to motivate ourselves into doing. It is so much easier to sit and have another nice cup of coffee and read.
Can you give me more specifics how you are able to incorporate healthy eating into your life?
I really like Museli mixed with fruit, yogurt and whey powder for Breakfast. The fruits are nearly always Blueberries and Banana.
We grow our own strawberries so if they are available i will include a couple in the mix. That and a cup of coffee before and after starts my day.
Mind you i drink water when I wake up and only have coffee and breakfast after 9.00am. I like to have at least 12 hours plus from when I last had food the previous day. That 12 hour fasting break has helped me control my eating habits. Especially in the evening after dinner. When i am very tempted to snack; particularly on any available sweet thing! So between 8.00 and 8.30 is ‘end of eating’ time for me each day.
That said i look forward to eggs and bacon or something similar for breakfast once a week. Often Sunday breakfast is the time when i want to chill out, sit on the porch and look at the ocean. Life doesn’t get much better than that.
Lunch is usually a raid of the refrigerator and a reheat of yesterdays Leftovers. Not a big meal. Sort of Sandwich size.
Afternoon tea and biscuits gets me through to dinner.
Now Dinner. Totally in the hands of my wife. She is the Menu-maker. The chef and 'Keeper of the gate’ that ensures i receive a nutritious and tasty meal once a day. How lucky am I! Left to my own devices, dinner is usually solved by takeaway. Not a pretty solution or one I like and fortunately it is fairly rare. I am not that interested in food. Especially for dinner. I just want to stop feeling hungry so whatever is available goes down. Without getting to serious about the meal, my wife always wants a delicious tasting dinner and scours her cook book library for something ’different’ each night. So I am spoilt for taste healthy meals!!
By the way I do like to Barbecue and take much care and pride in cooking meats and roasting veggies etc during the summer months.
The secret - my Weber! Gas fired. No Heatbeads or Charcoal. Use those fuels regularly and you have a never ending filthy mess to clean up after each cook, which for me destroys the effort and pleasure of preparing the meal.
Do you have any tricks to hep you include exercise in your life?
I like physical activity. In my younger years that translated to playing various sports and building activities.
The body is too sore and achey now for anything more strenuous than paddling or golf. So to get the day off I go for a walk then bounce on a mini tramp to shake things up and lubricate the joints. This then brings on the idea that some stretching and light weights will help too.
I do not want to feel that I am going to spend much time on all of this because the sheer thought sends me back to bed to rest.
If I think it is all just a couple of these and a few of those then i can go off and have a cup of coffee and a read - I am good to ‘exercise’.
Usually all this movement just spurs things along and I think of more parts to stretch or ’train’. Before I know it I have done most if not all the exercises on my list and am good to head off and enjoy the day.
Finally, any advice you would give your 40 year old self
The message I would give to my 40 year old self is to:-
- Do all mobility stretches everyday no matter how easy they feel because that is what you want to keep going.
- Combined with it - Rolling as required.
- The other thing is not to do daily running. Take up rowing or cycling instead. (non impact) I believe my knees would have lasted the distance if I did.
- Wear sunglasses when out and apply suncream.
- Watch your diet to maintain a healthy weight.